Mooncalf
by Azamiko
Summary: Tokka. They talk in the moonlight.


It occurs to me that this might actually be my first kissing scene. Eheheh...

A 'moon-calf' is basically an old phrase for a stupid person.

FANfiction, get me?

* * *

Another full moon, and another night she searched for her friend, only to find him staring solemnly up at the night sky.

Briefly, Toph wondered what was so entrancing about the night sky, that so many poems and songs were written about it. Why was sight the sense people always talked about? Beauty was like a 'sunset' or 'sunrise;' eyes were the color of the 'sky,' or 'forest,' or 'mud.' Everything was about sight, for most people. The blind girl couldn't help but wonder if people knew just what they were missing by favoring such an--in her opinion--unnecessary sense.

"Hey, Snoozles." She smirked as she felt the older boy jump, hand on his boomerang. "Geez, you're easy to sneak up on! A blind kid could do it!"

Sokka rolled his eyes before growling out, "not funny, Toph."

Still smirking, she settled down next to her moon-gazing friend. She understood his interest in the moon, Katara had taken the time to explain it to her one evening when she started to tease him about it. Of course, that hadn't stopped the blind girl; now she teased him about it only when the older girl wasn't around.

"So, you're _mooning_ over your ex again, huh?"

Instead of the skipped heartbeat of hurt she'd felt the first few times she'd made that joke, Toph felt warmth as he gently punched her shoulder.

"Ah, shaddup. I'm not mooning; I'm just…thinking." Wow, that was different from the usual grumbles. Maybe Snoozles was maturing.

"'Bout what?" She, on the other hand, was as blunt as ever. And, to make sure that he didn't act too mature, she took a moment to nudge him, just to get him rough-housing a little. He didn't answer her question until they were finished and settled back down.

"She was my first love, Toph. And, it doesn't hurt as much as it did, and I feel…bad 'bout that."

"What, you expected to mope around for the rest of your life? What a masochist."

"Toph! That's not it…but…" She felt him shake his head and slump down, practically falling on top of her.

Again she thought of the songs, and how they all relied on sight metaphors. She could never understand why bards and story-tellers didn't realize the power of touch, the way the earth felt so comforting under your feet, the way sweat felt so cool and satisfying on your brow, the way someone's breath on your cheek could make you forget how to breathe.

"What is it, Snoozles?"

"Suki tried to kiss me once, when the moon was full. I turned away." His voice was soft, as if he were telling her some deep, dark secret.

"That's understandable. I'm sure she got over it." Toph knew that her friend was being completely sincere, but she couldn't keep the sarcasm from leaking through. So, he'd gone from talking about his first girlfriend, to talking about his second. Sometimes she wished she could hate this idiot.

"I mean, I know that Yue," she almost winced at the name. Almost. "Wouldn't have wanted me to mope over her forever. I knew, even then, that she wouldn't have minded."

"So, what's your point?"

"It was me who was bothered, me who didn't feel right." Again with the confessional tone. The girl rolled her sightless eyes. Had he _just_ figured that out? How long ago had that been?

"But, Toph…When…" Now his voice wasn't just low, it was almost impossible to hear. If he'd been talking to anyone else, their ears wouldn't have picked up on the sounds. Luckily, blind eyes led to exceptional hearing.

"When what, Sokka? Geez, you sound like a girl confessing her love!" Interesting. Did his face just heat up?

The boy gulped, knowing that his next words could possibly end in his untimely demise.

"When I'm here with you, kissing you is all I can think of."

What? Wait, WHAT?! Despite her awesome hearing, Toph barely heard the next words out of Sokka's mouth.

"I mean, I don't think of Yue, or anyone else; even if I start off thinking of her, as soon as you come over I can't think of anything except how pretty you look in the moonlight, particularly cuz I can't see the dirt that I _know_ is on your cheek from before, and could I kiss you; please don't kill me!"

It wasn't until she felt his warmth leaving her side that Toph snapped out of her stupor. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him so his breath was once again on her face.

"Say that last bit again." Her voice was hard as the earth they sat on. Sokka winced, wondering how much she was going to make him pay.

"Uh, please don't kill me?" He closed his eyes, preparing to take the blow like a man. Or like Toph, come to think of it.

"Not that part, idiot! Before that!" Now her grip on his arm was definitely cutting off his circulation. He peeked down at his friend, noticing her flushed face and wide eyes. No matter what she was about to do to him, it was almost worth it to see that cute surprised expression on her face. He found himself smiling a little, ignoring his imminent death.

"Could I…kiss you?" No, his voice did _not_ squeak at the end there.

The girl gave up her hold on his arm, instead choosing to clutch the front of his shirt in her hands as she jerkily nodded. Sokka let out the breath he'd been holding, noting how tiny and strangely delicate her hands were, trying to relax before leaning in.

"This better not be a trick or joke or something, Snoozles." This time it was his turn to smirk, knowing that, in this at least, he was slightly more experienced than the earthbender.

"Sshh."

And then his lips were lightly brushing hers, and she didn't know what to think or feel. Sure, she'd liked him for a while now, but she'd never really thought that he'd like her back. And kissing had never even crossed her mind.

His lips were lightly chapped, like hers, but somehow, neither of them could mind. They were kneeling, face-to-face underneath a full moon on a muggy summer night and nothing could be more perfect.

His nose brushed against her cheek, inhaling the scent of earth and forest and that smell that was distinctly _Toph_, before he brought his mouth down again; this time putting a bit more pressure as his arms slipped around his friend. It wasn't his first kiss, but it may as well have been, because nothing before had made him feel so full and yet left him yearning at the same time

Toph, who always noticed everything around her, didn't realize that his hands were on her back until she felt him pulling her closer. She stretched her arms up and around his neck before they could be trapped between their bodies. The entire Fire Nation--or, more likely, a nosy Avatar or waterbender--could charge up to them right now, and she wouldn't notice.

Suddenly, she felt something warm and wet tracing her lips. It took her fuzzy mind a moment to realize that it was his tongue and another moment to realize what he wanted. Obligingly, she opened her mouth, but there her willingness to simply oblige ended. She should be taking a more active role, she decided. So, for the next few moments, their tongues mimicked one of their conversations, a set of back-and-forth that was aggressive and somehow caring at the same time.

When they finally broke apart, both were breathing heavily. Toph made a note to remember that she could, in fact, breath out of her nose. Sokka just grinned and leant back to settle on the ground once more, this time with the girl wrapped in his arms.

"It wasn't fireworks."

"Eh?" Evidently, his mind couldn't keep up even with kiss-muddled Toph. Sokka wondered if he could kiss her quiet, before deciding that she'd catch on and probably punish him later.

"It wasn't fireworks, or sunsets, or whatever else those stupid bards always say it is." Toph looked annoyed, and Sokka could only pray that it wasn't directed at him. Since she was in the middle of snuggling down into his embrace, he figured his chances were better than usual.

"It was…like rock."

"Eh?" Oh, how he hated repeating himself.

"And like a storm."

"Wet and noisy?" He winced as she reached up to smack his head. Yeah, he deserved that one.

"No, moron. It was all solid and warm, like the earth, and fuzzy and exciting like a storm. Ugh, never mind, you wouldn't get it."

For once, Sokka said the right thing. "No, I think I do get it. That's a good description, Toph. That's exactly what it's like."

They sat in silence for a while, her feeling his warmth and listening to his heart beat, and him admiring her face in the moonlight. Eventually, though, they decided that they had better head back to camp before their friends came out looking for them. It was going to be awkward enough to explain without visuals added in.

So, Sokka stood and held out a hand to Toph, and for once she actually took it without a word. They made their way back under the treetops, Toph thinking about what had happened that had led up to her currently holding hands with the stupidest guy she'd ever met. She sighed, knowing that in the morning he'd be just as obnoxious as ever. Oh well, now she had a new way of shutting him up.

"Just a second, Snoozles. Go ahead; I'll be right there." Toph pulled her hand away, already missing the warmth. She could practically feel his curious gaze, so she made shooing gestures to hurry him along. Reluctantly, he headed back towards their camp, leaving his friend--and now more--at the edge of the small clearing.

Later she would pretend it hadn't happened, but when she turned back to aim a certain finger in the direction she supposed the moon to be, she could have sworn she heard a girl's laughter.

Turning, she hurried to catch up with her warrior boy. She could hear him cursing the darkness as he stumbled through the night. Smirking, she thought of how she could teach him to use his other sense, particularly her favorite: touch. Bouncing a few small rocks in her hand, she called out to him.

"Hey, Snoozles, catch!"

"Ow! Toph!"


End file.
